Finding You
by SilverMoon2465
Summary: Rowan Lands lived a perfectly normal life until her father dies from a shooting and together, she and her sister are sent off to live with their uncle, Charlie Swan. While Rowan is trying to cope with her loss, she can't help but notice strange things going on in Forks. And when the mysterious Jasper shows interest in her, her life gets very complicated. J/OC
1. Preface

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or it's characters. I only own my OCs so I take full ownership of them and this story so please don't copy this and post it as your own.**

Preface

There are things in this world that cannot be explained. Things that leave you sitting in a lonely airport holding the hand of your little four-year-old sister headed to a place where you haven't been to in ten years.

I'd never given much thought to change—though I've never really needed to before now. I grew up in a small two story house in leafy St. Paul, Minnesota with my parents, Keith and Claire Lands. We never had to worry about food or money because my parents were both hardworking people. At the age of fourteen, my mother died giving birth to my little sister, Kelly. My dad was never the same since that day, devoting all of his free time into his job as a police officer and shutting out his lonely, confused teenager and newborn baby.

My dad still loved us, but he never sat down to Saturday night family dinners or cheered at my soccer games like he use to. It was like a part of him died with my mother.

I was the one that raised Kelly. I would feed her, change her diapers, and drop her off at daycare every morning before I went to school. But I never could complain, seeing Kelly's dark blue eyes sparkle at me as we walked down the sidewalk skipping, laughing, and enjoying the serene rustle of the trees as the wind blew in the morning. Soon, she became my everything. There was nothing I wouldn't do for her, even if it meant staying up extra later finishing homework because I watched her favorite princess movie with her cuddled up next to me.

This is the world I had come to accept for the past four years: my dad, Kelly, and I living in our little family. That was—of course—before the accident.

**Author's Note: Hello, everyone! I would just like to say that this is the preface of my new story ****Finding You****. This is just a sliver of a glimpse of what's next to come and I'm posting the first chapter immediately after this which I hope you will read. Please review if you have any suggestions or helpful advice that will make this story even better.**

**Thanks! -Silvermoon2465**


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or it's characters. I only own my OCs so I take full ownership of them and this story so please don't copy and claim as your own.**

**-24 hours earlier-**

I stood in front of my mirror staring at my third outfit of choice: a pair of dark wash skinny jeans with an olive green top and light brown leather jacket with some brown leather boots and a couple brackets and rings. My face was framed by my long chocolate brown hair which waved down to my waist turning an auburn color at the bottom. My eyes were duller than their normal bright blue color, probably due from lasts night homework load that kept me up till midnight.

Light music was playing in the background coming from my stereo and I turned to my bed stand where my tiny alarm clock read 6:56 AM. I sighed mentally and grabbed my backpack and various books that lay scattered on the floor.

As I walked out of my room and down the hall, I peeked my head into my little sister's room and smiled. She was dressed in a ballerina tutu with her hair in tiny pigtails dancing and spinning around in her room.

"Hey, princess. All ready for today?" She turned and gave me her famous dimpled smile as she raced over and jumped into my arms, giving me a hug.

"Rowan!" She giggled. "Did you see my ballerina dance?"

"I did, princess. It was very beautiful."

She wiggled out of my arms and started twirling around again. I laughed and watched as Kelly danced, forgetting the time and just letting myself relax.

"Rowan!" A loud voice yelled from downstairs. I widened my eyes and frantically searched for a clock. "Shi—"

Kelly stopped dancing and ran over and grabbed my hand. "Ro, are we late?"

I gulped and nodded, picking her up and racing downstairs where our dad was waiting at the open door—arms crossed and foot tapping.

"Love you dad!" I swiftly kissed his cheek before he could say anything and slammed the door behind me.

As soon as we stepped outside, an icy blast of air hit me in the face and I instantly shivered. Weather like this wasn't uncommon here in the middle of October. The leaves were deep crimsons, honeycomb yellows, and sunset oranges as everything was preparing for the hibernation of the upcoming winter.

As I set Kelly down, she grabbed my hand and started pulling me along towards her daycare. She had a playful smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye and I couldn't help but smile back down at her. We continued our silent walk down the street and the wind stopped and the air around me seemed tense, frozen in place as if waiting for something.

About another mile or so down the road, the familiar sign of Mrs. Bee's Daycare Center came into view. The building was a sunshine yellow with a deep blue color on the roof.

Inside the room was warm and bright, with colorful carpets and decorated walls that bring out the happiness inside of the room. I walked with Kelly up to the front desk and we waited patiently as the lady checked her in.

"Rowan..." I looked down at Kelly's delicate face and saw her beckoning for me to bend down. Following her request, she came closer and whispered in my ear, "Ro, your the bestest big sister ever." Feeling tears of joy fill my eyes, I whispered that she was my favorite sister ever and gave her a big kiss on the forehead before playfully rubbing her head and sending her off to the playful array of toys in the other room.

Watching her leave was probably the hardest part of my day, seeing her little pigtails bobbing up and down as she races around with the other children and knowing that I have to be someplace else.

I shook my head coming to my senses, thanked the desk lady again, and headed off to my high school, Point Ridge High School.

My school was just like every other public high school. A huge campus with a couple thousand kids: the jocks, druggies, popular cheerleaders, other various groups, and then my group, the normal people who just want to get through high school without any drama.

Walking up to my school, I see my best friend, Emma, standing in the parking lot with two Starbucks coffees in her hands. Smiling, I ran up to her and gave her a hug, careful not to spill the steamy drinks.

Emma had long, curly blonde hair and a big smile. She was super pretty, but she didn't really notice, and we had been friends since kindergarten.

"Hey, Ro. Your later than usual." I shrugged and ran a hand through my windblown hair.

"You know, Em. Complications as usual." She rolled her eyes and handed me my favorite coffee, pumpkin spice latte. She really knows how to cheer me up before the day has even started.

She suddenly focused on something behind me before winking at me and moving her head indicating that someone was behind me. I turned and saw Liam, my ex-boyfriend of two year standing about three feet behind me with an apologetic glance on his face.

"I'll just be leaving... Don't be late to first period Calculus or Mr. Rodney will have your head, Ro." Emma said before running off and abandoning me with him.

I frantically watch her go before turning back to Liam and giving him a sheepish smile. He rubbed the back of his head nervously and looked down at the ground before looking back at my eyes. "Look Ro, I know that you and I had a rocky breakup, but I don't want to lose you." He stopped talking and waiting hesitantly for my replay. Frustrated thoughts ran through my mind as I tried to keep myself collected. "Look, Liam—"

He cut me off with a wave of the hand, "Rowan, before you turn me down can I at least have one more chance and take you out for lunch today?"

His eyes looked so pleading I couldn't help but dramatically sigh and nod my head. His face lit up in a smile and he took a step forward to give me a hug but I put a hand on his chest. "Just because I'm giving you a second chance doesn't mean that I have forgiven you.." He nodded and stepped back, giving me one last smile before turning around and walking away.

I let out a huge breath that I had been holding in once he was gone, frustrated that I had to be alone with him later. I took a long sip of my now lukewarm coffee and heard the tardy bell ring, earning myself another groan of frustration as I raced off towards Calc.

The morning went by faster than I wanted it to as the lunch bell rang as I started putting my World History textbook into my backpack and walked over to the door where Emma was waiting for me.

"Sooo, do you have a date or not?" She said as she playfully nudged my shoulder. Rolling my eyes and playfully nudging her back, I replied, "Maybeee..."

She squealed with delight and instantly starting fixing my hair and trying to get me to apply some more lipstick.

"Emma please, it's just lunch, not a ball."

"But it's Liam! And he obviously wants to get back together with you!"

"But what if—" I started turning to look at her to find her giving me her famous puppy dog eyes that I could never resist. "Ugg, fine! Lipstick, just this once!" She squealed again and gave me a big hug before sending me off towards the parking lot where Liam was waiting with his old BMW.

As we climbed into the car, the atmosphere was instantly filled with an awkward silence.

"So, how have you been?" Liam asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"Good, I guess, collage applications have been stressing me out a lot more than I would like to admit." He gave a playful laugh as we pulled out of the school and headed down the road to a cute little diner. "I do admit, college is going to be rough." I turn to him and can't help but playfully punch his arm and say, "Not too hard for the big bad Liam, right?"

"Of course not!" He said with a laugh lifting one of his arms up and flexing his muscles.

I really did like Liam when we were dating, a lot actually, but then we had a huge fight and he said things that were close to unforgivable and we went out separate ways. That was a hard part in my life, I won't lie, but then came Emma with a couple of chicks flicks and ice cream pints and I soon got over it.

As we pulled into the diner, Liam told me to wait as he climbed out of the car before walking over and opening my door.

"Now you may get out, my lady." I laughed and too his hand as I got out of the car and he escorted me in and we sat down in a booth in the corner by the window.

A nice looking waitress came by and took our order and I found myself looking outside at the pale sky as a flock of ravens flew by in a black mesh of feathers. I knew Liam was thinking of things to talk about, but frankly I was in the mood where silence was appreciated.

A tv was bolted on the ceiling in a corner and the local news was being broadcasted. I wasn't really paying attention until I head the word "cop" and "shot" and I quickly turned my gaze to find my dad's face plastered on the tv.

My mouth was frozen in a silent scream as my cell phone started ringing from my backpack. Pulling it out, I saw that it was Emma and knowing that she would call me only in an emergency, I answered immediately.

Her voice came in blurred, sobbing string and all I could catch was "police came looking for you" "Keith...shot" "Rowan, I'm so sorry."

Liam watched as the phone dropped out of my hand and landed on the floor with a loud bang, shattering the screen and denting the case. No words were spoken as I grabbed my stuff and we sprinted outside and jumped into his car before he gunned his engine and we raced back to school.

As we arrived, I saw a squadron of police cars with their lights on parked outside of the school. Jumping out of the car, I ran up to the doors and saw my dad's co-workers in their uniforms talking to our principal, Mr. Kinley. Mrs. Bee sat on some benches holding Kelly's hand who was calling out my name. I dropped my bags and raced over to her giving her a giant hug, stroking her head telling her everything is going to be ok and trying to calm her down. I saw Brian, my dad's partner walking over to me and placing a hand on my shoulder. He started talking but I shut him out, not wanting to hear it. Not wanting to believe that my father lay dead on a sidewalk somewhere with a bullet in his head. No, that couldn't be my father, that couldn't be the man who raised me from a baby. It couldn't...

**Author's Note: Here's the first chapter, and I hoped that you enjoyed it! Please review and tell me what you thought of it and if there were any suggestions you had about this story. Thanks again for reading, you're all awesome!**


	3. Chapter 2

****Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or it's characters. I only own my OCs so I take full ownership of them and this story so please don't copy this and post it as your own.****

**Chapter 2**

The plane ride from St. Paul, Minnesota to Forks, Washington was much shorter than I would like to admit. Kelly didn't understand what was happening and it was tearing me apart inside. Every thirty minutes or so she would lean over and ask me if we were going to see daddy somewhere. Seeing her big, round eyes look pleadingly up at me was enough to burst in to tears, but I kept my grief in for her.

We were on our way to live with our Uncle Charlie, who graciously offered right away to take us in after his brother's passing. Turns out his daughter, Bella, was also coming to live with him and would arrive a day later.

As the plane descended into foggy rolls of clouds, I looked out at the vast forests that seemed to stretch for miles at a time.

As we exited the plane, I grabbed Kelly's hand as we moved through the vacant airport, pausing at brief periods to look for a sign of find a bathroom (what happens when four years olds have multiple juice packs). After finally finding the baggage claim, I grabbed my one plain, blue suitcase and Kelly's small pink suitcase and we headed outside to find Charlie.

The weather was cold and I picked Kelly up in my warm embrace once I saw her shivering. We both were a little under dressed for the colder weather, my outfit of simple jeans with a tee shirt and Kelly's little ballerina outfit (she insisted and there was nothing I could do to stop it).

I looked around at the tiny parking lot looking for something that Charlie would be driving and I felt Kelly tug on my sleeve and as I looked at her she pointed to a police cruiser parked about 100 yards away from us. Leaning against the hood was Charlie in a pair of faded jeans with an old flannel and windblown hair. He looked slightly awkward with his car, his eyes peeling back and forth looking for us as various people walked by. I picked up our suitcases and dragged then over with one hand while Kelly was in my other to him. As we approached, his gaze found us and his eyes widened with disbelief.

"Rowan? Is that you?" I set our luggage down and gave him a one-handed hug which he returned.

"Uncle Charlie, it's so good to see you!"

"You too, Ro. I'm, ahh. I'm sorry about Keith..." He looked pained so I put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a sincere look.

"Thank you, Charlie, for taking us in. I don't know what Kelly and I would have done if you didn't."

He looked at the ground and gave a slight blush, same old awkward Charlie. If I remember correctly, Bella acts the same way.

He lifted his head back up and gave a slight smile before reaching to grab our bags and stuff them in the trunk of his cruiser. Charlie here was the chief of the police in Forks, just like Keith...

The drive home was a silent one, with some exceptions of the occasional small talk.

"I just can't believe how much you've grown, Ro. Oh, can I still call you Ro or do you prefer Rowan now?"

I offer a small smile. "Ro is just fine, Charlie. And ya, I'm 5'9 right now."

He gave a chuckle and shook his head. "Ohh, I remember when you were four and you and Bella would go outside and wrestle in the leaves."

Kelly's excited voice cried from the backseat, "I'm four now, Uncle Charlie!" He looked in his rearview mirror and gave her an excited expression. "My goodness Kel-bear! I hardly recognized you, you've grown so much!"

Her soft squeals of laughter filled the car and I found myself smiling at her happiness, finally forgetting about what had been on my mind all day.

The car ride lasted for only an hour or so and soon the faintly familiar Forks sign came into view and we drove past it into the town.

Pulling up to his tiny, two story house, I saw a beat up old Chevy truck in the parking lot. "Just a little homecoming gift for you and Bella to get around town without being seen in the cruiser." I grin and give him a welcoming pat on the shoulders. Mentally, I decided to wait to check the truck out until Bella arrived since it was technically going to be hers anyway.

We quickly unloaded the car and headed inside. After a quick tour, he showed us upstairs where two bedrooms were facing each other. One had one bed with light blue walls and a couple various furniture items and the other had two small twin beds with purple walls, a desk, and a comfy chair.

Charlie rubbed his head awkwardly. "I hope you two don't mind sharing a room."

I waved my hand. "Not at all, Charlie! Thank you so much, the room is beautiful!"

After unpacking Kelly and mine's clothing, we headed into town and went to a small diner and ate dinner there.

The next morning, Charlie left early so he could go pick up Bella, which left me with the task of finding Kelly a new daycare since Bella and I would be at school and Charlie would be working.

Hand in hand, we walked down the street and explored all of the little shops in town before coming to Mrs. Webb's Daycare.

Inside was a room similar to Mrs. Bee's and Kelly soon was jumping up and down with excitement at all of the new toys.

A young women was leaning over a pile of books and I walked up and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around and jumped up and exclaimed, "Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry I didn't see you there."

I chuckled and offered my hand. "That's alright, we just walked in. I'm Rowan." She took my hand and shook it, having a friendly smile on her face. "I'm Angela Webb and my mom owns this daycare. Are you new here?" I nodded and Kelly then decided to peer out from behind my leg and Angela gave a tiny aww and bent down. "Hi, there. I'm Angela. What's your name, cutie?"

"Kelly looked up at me and I gave her a small nod while smiling. "I'm Kelly."

Angela stood up again. "Well, Miss Kelly, would you like to stay and play?"

I cut in. "Oh I'm sorry, Angela. Were just looking around, but she will be here tomorrow."

"Oh! Perfect! Does that mean your going to be in school?"

I sighed and nodded my head, "Unfortunately, I have to keep battling the ever so demanding high school until I graduate."

She gave a soft laugh and smiled at me. "Well don't worry, I go to Forks High School as well and it's not that bad. I'll make sure to introduce you to everyone."

"Thanks! That's would be great."

I felt a buzz in my pocket and I pulled out my phone to see Charlie texted me telling me that he would be home in ten minutes.

I gave Angela an apologetic look and she shrugged it off and started to shoo me away. "See you tomorrow then, Rowan. And as for you Miss Kelly, I bet your going to have lots of fun here."

I dragged Kelly outside and we started back to Charlie's house, walking up just as his car was pulling into the driveway.

I saw Bella get out and I was taken aback at how similar she and Charlie look, same color hair, same eyes and facial structures and super pale skin. I came up and gave her a warm hug.

"Bella, it's so good to see you again!"

"Same, Ro! I'm so sorry about your father." We stepped apart and I looked down as I felt tears fill my eyes. Shaking them away I gave her a smile and then helped her take her several bags of luggage to her room.

One of the good things about Bella is that she doesn't try and pry into your personal life, she respects it. Already we had a tolerable bond of both coming to a new town and starting at a new school in the middle of the year.

The next day came way too fast as I found myself hastily brushing my teeth and combing my hair in the mirror. I had on some faded blue jeans with a white lacy top, a long blue cardigan, and my favorite pair of UGG boots since it was rather cold out. Dressing Kelly in some pink stripped leggings with a cute pink sweater, she and I headed downstairs where Bella was waiting dressed in some dark jeans and a green sweater. I climbed into the truck and Bella drove to the daycare where Kelly was dropped off before heading to the high school.

Pulling into the parking lot I give her a look of hesitancy as she returns it and we both climb out of the car and head to the office to get our schedules. An hour later, I found myself sitting alone in AP Calculus with a bunch of people staring at me behind my back. I've seen Bella every once in a while passing between classes but so far we haven't had one together.

As the bell rang, a girl with long brown hair and a pretty face came up to me.

"You're Rowan Lands, right?" She looked like the popular girl who wanted to be friends with everyone.

"You can call me Ro. And your name?" I replied.

"I'm Jessica." She gave me an glance over, basically seeing if I was worthy of her time before forcibly locking her arm with mine and dragging me off towards the lunch tables giggling about how much fun we were going to have. To my greatest relief, I saw Bella and Angela sitting at the same table she was dragging me to and I quickly snatched the seat next to my cousin. Jessica attempted to introduce everyone but I forgot their names as soon as she said them.

Afterwards, I basically shut everyone out and focused on eating my apple I heard Bella's voice ask, "Who are they?"

Looking up, I notice how everyone's gaze shifted to the table in corner of the cafeteria where five people were sitting. They weren't talking, and they weren't eating, though they each had a tray of untouched food in front of them. They weren't gawking at me like every else else had been throughout the day, rather just staring out of the window. None of them looked alike, except the uncanny thing is that they all were exactly alike. Every one of them was chalky pale, the palest of all the students living in the sunless town. They all had dark eyes despite their hair color with dark, purplish shadows under their eyes.

Jessica ended the eerie silence that surrounded the table by whispering under her breath, "That's Edward and Emmett Cullen, and Rosalie and Jasper Hale. The one left is Alice Cullen; they all live together with Dr. Cullen and his wife."

I noticed Bella glancing at the moody-looking one named Edward. My eyes were drawn to the one sitting farthest away from me with his longish blonde hair sweeper dramatically across his forehead. He was looking out the window and I noticed how his back suddenly went ridged, as if he were scared about something.

"Ro! Are you even listening to me?!"

"Whaa—" Jessica's frustration brought me back to reality. "I'm sorry, Jess. I just blanked out I guess." She let out a small huff and went back to gossiping about the Cullen's.

After lunch, I thankfully escaped off to my favorite class—Advanced Art. As I walked into the classroom, the whole class was already seated and painting with various colors. The all paused and stared at me as I slowly walked up to the teacher and I felt my cheeks flame in a bright, red blush. Handing my slip to the teacher, she directed me to a seat in the very back next to one of the Cullen girls, I think her name was Rosalie.

Sitting down, I casually glance to her canvas and saw that she was painting a blood red moon over a dark and enchanting forest.

"That's..beautiful." I breathed out in amazement. She turned and gave me a wary glance, as if pondering whether or not to reply.

Finally she sighed and gave a slight smile before starting to paint again.

Not knowing what to do, I decided to paint something. I grabbed a couple paint brushes and a palette with various colors and started painting. My favorite thing about art is that while you draw or paint, you get to watch your creation come to life. I started with a deep brown and painted and basic outline of trees before adding the reds, yellows, and oranges of the leaves, also while adding a slight grey giving it a foggy, mysterious look like the forest was haunted. Before I knew it, I heard the bell ring and I look up from my canvas seeing everyone exiting the class.

Rosalie was pulling her long blonde hair out of its ponytail letting it cascade in perfect waves before grabbing her bags.

"You know," she said quietly, "you've really got some talent." She then turned and walked away, leaving me alone in the room.

"Thanks!" I called out after her, not knowing if she heard me.

After cleaning everything up, I went to the office to drop off my signed slips and then headed to the parking lot to Bella's car. Climbing into the front seat, I noticed Bella sitting in the drivers seat staring blankly out of the window with tears in her eyes.

"Hey," I placed a hand on her shoulder, "is everything ok?"

She turned her head and I saw that inside something was paining her, but she just shook her head and starting the car and pulling out of the parking spot. As we were exiting the parking lot, I swear I saw Edward Cullen leaning against his Volvo watching us leave before he suddenly disappeared from view, leaving an us easy feeling in the pit of my stomach.

**Author's Note: So here's the second story and I'm sorry to say that it does follow the story very closely. Just know it won't always be like that, so please don't be frustrated with me. Since this was the weekend, I was able to write pretty easily, but now that I have school again, I don't think I will be able to have a new chapter up till Wednesday. Thank you for all my followers but sadly I haven't had any reviews yet. Please review because it encourages me to write faster which I heLive you would appreciate so it's basically a win-win situation here. So, once again PLEASE REVIEW! Thank you all for reading!**

**-Silvermoon2465**


	4. Chapter 3

******Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or it's characters. I only own my OCs so I take full ownership of them and this story so please don't copy this and post it as your own.******

**Chapter 3**

The next day was better...and worse. It was better because it wasn't raining yet, though the dark clouds looming overhead were threatening. It was also better because I knew what to expect of my day: I would sit with Angela for English, and she would always walk me to my next class. For lunch I would sit with Jessica's group: which are an energetic gaggle of boys and girls who seem genuinely pleased to have me sit with them. It was worse because I couldn't sleep last night due to nightmares of my dead father keeping me up. It was worse because people still stared at me as I walk past. It was awful when Mrs. Richards called on me in Chemistry and I didn't know the answer. And it was miserable seeing Bella walking around in a funk because of something she had yet to tell me.

All morning I was anticipating lunch because something kept pulling my gaze towards the Cullen's table. Everyone of them was enchanting in their own unique way. Sitting down next to Mike, who was very interested in Bella, I let my eyes wander over to the familiar table in the corner. I noticed that Bella was doing the same, only she was doing it with dread.

Edward Cullen wasn't at the table. The empty chair sat out of place, shoved against the wall as the remaining four Cullen's sat hundred together, their shoulders tense and their bodies stiff with their untouched trays of food sitting forgotten in front of them.

After lunch, art flew by in a haze. Rosalie didn't acknowledge my presence once, rather sitting silently in her chair moving the paintbrush up and down her canvas.

When the final bell rang, I gratefully cleaned up and made my escape of the awkward silence between her and I. Bella let a deep sigh of relief as I climbed in the car. Gunning the engine and ignoring the heads that turned in our direction, she backed carefully into a place where the line of cars waited to exit the parking lot. As we waited, I saw the two Cullen's and the Hale twins climbing into their car. I had never noticed their clothes before—I'd been too distracted by their memorizing faces. Now that I looked, I noticed that their clothes all hinted at designer origins. It seemed excessive for them to have both looks and money, but it looked as if it didn't get them much acceptance here. As they looked at our noisy car, I noticed that out of the four gazes, only one of them held interest in comparison to the other expressionless eyes. As Bella pulled away, my head craned back to stare at Jasper Hale, watching as his body faded away in the misty fog.

Since Bella and I both found out from the previous night that Charlie had no clue how to cook, she graciously offered to cook dinner for tonight.

Kelly and I sat curled up on the couch in front of Kelly's favorite Disney movie, _Cinderella_. She sat beside me, her head nestled against my chest and I held her tightly, never wanting to let her go as my grief came to me in waves. She was the only close family I had left, besides Bella and Charlie.

When Charlie came home, he glanced questioningly at the aroma coming from the kitchen. I couldn't blame him—Renee, Bella's mom, apparently had a reputation for making exotic dishes when they were still married.

After a delicious meal of steak and potatoes, Charlie went to go watch his football game with his new sports fan, Kelly, as I stayed to help Bella clean up. Standing in the kitchen washing the dishes while Bella dried, my thoughts kept piling in my head about Bella's strange behavior at school.

"It's Edward Cullen, isn't it?" My voice broke the silence she looked up startled, her face turning red with embarrassment.

"What?"

I kept my head down, not wanting to look at her. "That's the reason you've been so weird lately."

She said nothing, but her hands stopped drying and went to rest against her sides.

"Is it that obvious?" I stopped washing and turned to face her, crossing my arms over my chest in an exaggerated way. "Well it certainly would explain how you always glance at their table during lunch and try to leave school before he comes out."

She rubs her shoulder cautiously but blurting out, "I just can't take it anymore, Rowan! He was so rude to me the first day and he told me that we shouldn't be friends, but there's a certain tension that keeps drawing me towards him and I can't stop thinking about him!"

I was taken aback by her sudden outburst and automatically put my arms around her in a loving embrace. "Don't worry about it, Bells. He probably just wasn't thinking straight."

She pulled away from me and wiped the single tear falling down her cheek.

"Thanks, Ro. I don't know why I'm getting all worked up over some guy." I smiled and gave her shoulder and affectionate rub. "You're just stressed from the move. Give it a few days and you'll probably forget all about it."

Sure enough, the week flew by with no sign of Edward Cullen. Bella soon went back to her normal self and I spent the time becoming closer with Angela and surprisingly Rosalie Cullen. She and I went from not talking in art to casual comments and eventually became mutual friends, though strangely she doesn't seem to like Bella that much.

This weekend, Charlie took Kelly out fishing while Bella and I invited Jessica, Angela, and a girl named Lauren over to hang out and watch movies. I invited Rosalie as well but she declined, saying her family had other plans.

Monday morning, I woke up to the sound of birds chirping. Looking outside at the bleak weather, I got dressed in some comfy tribal print leggings, a big comfy sweatshirt, and my favorite UGGs.

Shaking Kelly awake, her soft blue eyes opened and she sat up looking confused, her hair sticking out in all different directions. Rubbing her head, I softly said, "Come on, sleeping beauty! Let's get you dressed." After a couple minutes and several giggles, Kelly was dressed in bright pink leggings with her usual pink tutu and a bright pink sweater to keep her warm. Her cheeks had a rosy tint to them and her eyes held playful mischief that was soon to come.

After dropping Kelly off and heading towards school, I felt an unusual tension in the air, like a change of weather. My spine straightened, feeling like something big was going to happen and I look over at Bella to see her reacting the same way.

Pulling in an empty spot, I climbed out of the car and started walking with her over to where Mike was waiting for us, or more for her.

"Hey, Bella." He said with an eager smile. She returned the smile but decided to stay quiet. A sudden gust of wind blew past my face sending my hair blowing in long waves behind my back. I then felt a small zap of something cold on my nose and I looked around to see a soft trickle of snow falling. I let out a soft gasp in awe as Bella's face turned to one of horror. I guess she didn't like snow due to the fact of her living in Phoenix her whole life. On the other hand, snow brought back happy memories of living in St. Paul with Emma and Liam.

School today went like any other day of school would have gone. I slept through most of my classes before the blessed bell rang signaling lunch. Walking with Jessica over to our table, my eyes casually glance over to the table in the corner and I see the usually empty chair now filled with an extra body.

"Bella, are you ok?" I look over at my cousin and saw what Jessica had noticed. Bella stood frozen with her gaze towards the Cullen's table. Upon hearing Jessica's voice, she looked away embarrassed and sat down next to me. I leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Don't worry about it, Bells. Just act like he isn't here."

She gave me a grateful and started drinking her soda, giving an occasional comment to the story Mike was excitingly telling.

When the bell rang, I give Bella's arm a slight squeeze as she stood up knowing she was headed off to biology with Edward. She held a determined look in her eyes as she walked away, her hips swaying with new-found confidence.

Sitting down next to Rose in art, I gave her a friendly smile. She didn't notice, for her eyes were trained outside the large window and time almost seemed frozen for her.

Gently tapping her on her arm, I said, "Hey, Rosalie. Is everything okay?"

She blinked her eyes and turned to look at me. "I'm sorry, Ro. I've been a little distracted today?"

Curious, I asked, "Is it about your brother's return?" She looked away and I instantly knew it was a touchy subject. I opened my mouth to apologize but she cut me off. "Partially. I guess most of it's from lack of sleep."

I nodded and went back to work, though in the back of my mind I made a mental comment noticing how alert she was looking. I knew there was something she wasn't telling me, but since I couldn't ask, I would just have to wait and find out.

Once school had ended, I started walking towards the car, but stopped and realized that I had left my textbook in my locker. Turning around, I noticed Bella just exiting the building and I gave her a little wave indicating to give me a minute. I hastily made my way to my locker, dialed my password, and grabbed what I needed. As I closed it, I gave a sharp turn and instantly barreled into someone, knocking my textbook out of my hand and sending it clattering to the floor.

"Hey! Why don't you watch where you're going?!" I said angrily as I rubbed my throbbing arm.

"My apologizes, ma'am." The deep voice startled me and I looked up to see none other than Jasper Hale himself.

After standing there for several seconds with my mouth hanging open like a barn door, I snapped out of it. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't realize it was you!"

He gave a deep chuckle, which mentally made me want to melt in a giant puddle, and bent down to retrieve my fallen textbook.

Handing it to me, he said quietly, "I sincerely apologize. I hope your arm doesn't hurt too much."

I waved him off and smiled. "Oh, you didn't hurt me at all. My arms fine, I guess I just overreacted."

He smiled and I noticed for the first time how unusually beautiful his eyes were, a deep golden color than reminded me of amber.

"Well, I think my brothers and sister are waiting for me, so I must depart. I am sorry once again for running into to you.."

He turned to leave and I hastily blurted out, "Rowan! My name's Rowan." He paused for a second and gave me a slight wave. "Well, Rowan. It was certainly nice meeting you. Hopefully in the future we can talk without causing any small catastrophes."

I watched him as he walked away, quite gracefully in fact for a man. His hair was the perfect shade of golden honey and I suddenly imagined running my hands through it.

A blush came to my cheeks, and I shook my head, wanting to get that embarrassing thought out of my mind before heading back to Bella.

Climbing into the car, I noticed her particularity happy mood so I guess her talk with Edward went well. As we drove away, my mind went back to Jasper Hale and I couldn't help but smile, wondering when we would get to talk next.

**Authors Note: So here's the third chapter for Finding You. I hope you're enjoying it:) Please review because reviews make me feel all good inside and inspire me to write faster. I am hoping to get the next chapter up by Saturday, so be expecting that sometime Saturday afternoon. Once again please review and tell me what you think, also I'm open to any suggestions or comments in which you think would make this story better. Thank you so much! You're all awesome!**

**-Silvermoon2465**


	5. Chapter 4

********Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or it's characters. I only own my OCs so I take full ownership of them and this story so please don't copy this and post it as your own.********

_**Quick Author's Note: I'm having some difficulty developing Jasper's character and I would really appreciate some helpful suggestions as to how I can make his character more lifelike. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy the new chapter!**_

**-Please Review-**

**Chapter 4**

I awoke to the soft pitter patter of little feet. Hazily rubbing my eyes, I sat up and waited to for my vision to focus. I saw Kelly twirling around in the pale light coming from the window, her hair bouncing in soft curls and her smile highly contagious.

Grinning, I asked, "What are you doing today, Princess?" She raced over to me and grabbed my arm, yanking me off of my bed.

"Come on, Rowan! You have to see the miracle!" She pulled me over to the window and pointed to her "miracle".

A fine layer of snow covered the yard, dusted the top of Bella's car, and whitened the road. All the rain from yesterday had frozen solid—coating the needles on the trees in intricate patterns, and making the driveway a deadly ice slick. I mentally added that I would have to keep extra watch of Bella, knowing how clumsy she is.

Charlie left for work before I got downstairs. In a way, living with Charlie almost felt like having my own place, because he always seemed to be busy.

As I smeared some peanut butter on a bagel for my breakfast, I noticed Bella sitting down at our kitchen table staring off into the distance.

"I should be avoiding him." Her voice startled me because I wasn't expecting it. Setting my bagel down, I turned to her. "Who, Edward?"

She nodded grimly. "It's just that he's been acting so strange. First, he acted like he never wanted to see me and disappears for a week. Now he comes back and tries to be nice, but I can tell he is lying about something."

She pauses and places a cold hand on my arm. "Rowan, did you notice how when we first met the Cullen's, their eyes were a dark blackish color and now their gold."

I searched in the back of my mind for something that stuck out, but shook my head. "I'm sorry, I haven't been really paying attention to their eye color."

Her shoulders sagged in disappointed and she went back to her zoned out stage. "You know," I said. "He might be acting weird because he doesn't know what to say. Maybe you intimidate him."

Disbelief came to her face as she looked at me like I was a mental case. "Don't give me that look," I said crossing my arms. "I had a boyfriend before and I know enough to read some signs. Why don't I ask Rosalie?"

Bella widened her eyes and shook her head. "Are you crazy?! Rosalie hates me with passion." I chewed on my bottom lip in frustration. "Well then, I'm out of ideas, why don't you just see how things play out. You never know, you might find yourself in a situation where you get to know him a lot better."

Driving to school, I distracted myself of Bella falling and her unwanted speculations of Edward Cullen by thinking of Emma back home. We occasionally text every once in awhile, but I can see she's moving on and it hurts knowing that part of my life was fading.

When we arrived, I climbed out of the car and saw Bella inspecting her tires. There were thin chains crisscrossed in diamond shapes around them. Charlie must have gotten up who knows how early to put them on. My throat felt tight. I wasn't used to being taken care of, and I'm sure Bella wasn't either, and Charlie's unspoken concern caught me by surprise.

We were standing in the back corner of the truck when I heard an odd sound.

It was a high-pitched screech of a fast moving object and I looked up startled.

Adrenaline does funny things to your body. I suddenly was transported to a slow-motion period, able to see several things at once. Edward Cullen was standing four cars away from Bella and me, staring in horror. I saw Jasper and Rosalie just slightly behind him with their eyes frantic. But more importantly was the dark green van spinning wildly across the iced parking lot. Just before I heard the shattering of the van, I heard Bella let out a gasp of surprise next to me before I felt a sharp pain in my arm as I let out an uncontrolled scream. The last thing I saw was Rosalie's concerned eyes staring intently into mine and I felt a cool hand brush against my cheek before everything went dark.

The steady beep of a near-by machine woke me up. Every inch of my body ached and I let out a hiss of pain when I tried sitting up. My brain forced me to take in my surroundings and I looked to see a plain white room with a desk and chair, a large machine, and a single metal bed with plain white sheets which I laid in.

A man walked through the door and my mouth fell open. He was young, he was blond...and he was handsomer than any celebrity I'd ever seen. He was pale, though, and tired-looking, with circles under his eyes. From Charlie's description, this had to be Carlisle Cullen.

"How are you feeling, Miss Lands?" Dr. Cullen said in a remarkably appealing voice.

He looked up from his clipboard and grimace at my appearance. I didn't even to need to reply to say I was in rough shape.

I suddenly remember that my cousin was standing next to me during the accident and I weakly groaned, "What about Bella!?"

He smiled. "Your cousin is doing fine. Nothing broken though she is bruised, you apparently got the worst damage. Speaking of which, I'm afraid your wrist is broken."

I looked down startled to see my right hand bandaged tightly and resting by my side. I tried moving my fingers but failed when pain shouted up my arm, making me grimace.

Charlie suddenly rushed in and Dr. Cullen started discussing my situation and I noticed Rosalie standing by the door.

"Can I please speak with Rowan?" She asked her father gently. He nodded and walked out with Charlie. She then walked over and sat at the edge of my bed.

"Ro, I'm sorry this had to happen to you."

I shook my head. "Don't apologize. It's not your fault." She looked pained, and my heart went out for her, wanting to comfort her.

"I didn't want to be friends with you, Rowan. If fact, at first I tried being rude." She looked at me wanting to see my reaction but I gestured for her to continue.

Signing, she said, "My family has always had to live cautiously. But that's something you probably wouldn't understand. I don't like friends because I know that sooner or later, something will happen and either hurt them or I would be the one to hurt them. And I was right. Here you are sitting in a hospital."

"Rosalie, things happen. But that doesn't mean you have any say in it. All I can say right now is that by you making an effort to be my friend, you've helped me in more ways than harm. I came here because my father died, and things have been really hard. But sitting next to you every art class always calms me down and helps me realize that there are people out there who are still there for me and are caring."

Her eyes filled with tears, but they never came out. She smiled and leaned in to give me an almost sisterly hug. Pulling her hair to one side, she glanced out the door and then back at me. "I don't like your cousin, I'm telling you that. She's treading down dangerous paths. But I will be your friend and protect you as best as I can."

I didn't know exactly how to reply so I smiled and thanked her.

A soft knocking sound came from the door and we both turned to see Jasper standing there, his gaze taking in my frail figure laying in bed.

Rosalie stood up and left, leaving me alone with him.

"I just wanted to see how you are doing?" He said in a quiet tone.

I shrugged my shoulders and smiled. "Well besides being in a hospital with a broken wrist, I'm just peachy."

He kept his distance by standing by the door, and his eyes held hidden sorrow.

He dropped his gaze and stared mournfully at the floor. "I don't like seeing you like this. I don't even know why I'm here. Just the thought of you laying in a bed hurting was too much to not check up on you."

His words sent different emotions rushing through me. "I don't know what to say, Jasper."

He waved his hand and looked at me. "I'm not going to be my brother and say that we shouldn't be friends. It's only leading him to trouble with Bella. All I'm going to say is that you should think carefully before becoming acquainted with my family because we all have rough pasts which can put you in danger. I just don't want to see you getting hurt, again."

With a painful struggle, I managed to sit up much to Jasper's protests."Jasper, your friendship is all I want right now. I'm not going to question every strange thing your family does because frankly, I see that as an invasion of privacy."

He sighed with relief and sent a dazzling smile my way which I happily returned. Seeing him smile was enough to forget my pain, and even though we were only friends, I held him in the very highest of opinions.

Carlisle appeared behind Jasper and placed a hand on his son's shoulder.

"I think its time that we give Miss Lands here some rest."

Jasper nodded obediently and turned to me one last time. "I hope you feel better Rowan."

"Thank you." I said and he turned and walked away. As he left, a part of me felt like it went missing and I found myself questioning my feelings for him. Did I really just want to be friends?

Later that day after Dr. Cullen had given me medication and ordered me to rest, I was able to leave and Charlie carefully drove me home.

Propped up in my bed working on some of my homework later that day, I was interrupted when Bella came storming in. "You saw, right!?"

My mouth hung open as I stared at my cousin's angry form. She threw her hands up in frustration. "Please tell me I wasn't the only one who saw!"

"What on earth are you talking about, Bella? Did you hit your head in the accident?"

"I'm talking about Edward Cullen! He saved us from that accident; it was him who stopped the car!"

"Stopped the car, what—" I watched in disbelief as she paced back and forth, continuing to rant about how Edward had managed to get from four rows of cars away to right next to her in a split second.

"Listen Bella." I said interrupting her. "I didn't see anything, but I'm not saying you're crazy. I think you just might be a little confused because everything happened so fast."

She leaned against the wall and slid down until she was sitting on the floor. Her hands cradled her head as she let out a deep breath.

"Rowan, I don't know what's happening to me. I know what I saw, Edward pulled me out of the way of that car. At the hospital, I tried to confront him and he stated that he was standing next to me and I was just imagining the distance. But it was like he appeared out of no where when he saved me."

I didn't reply and we sat in silence for a couple minutes while I collected my thoughts.

"You know, Bella. I don't know anymore what to say about Edward. I've never seen someone act the way he does, so I'm going to leave it to you to figure out. But don't think that means I'm not here for you."

She gave a tiny smile and stood up. She walked over and gave me a hug, and turned and walked away, leaving me to wonder if what I said was the best response.

That night I had a nightmare. I was walking with my dad and Kelly towards our favorite diner when a car came speeding towards us. In a flash of bright light I found myself suddenly standing alone; my dad and sister lay on the icy ground dead and covered with blood. I let out silent screams of terror and then Rosalie and Jasper came up and picked their bodies up and started to disappear. I frantically tried to grab them, but they evaporated into mist and the last thing I saw was Jasper's face, telling me I should have stayed away while I had the chance.

**Author's Note: Here is the fourth chapter! I hope you enjoyed it and I would REALLY appreciate it if you would review and tell me what you thought because lately I have been getting no feedback and it's making me discouraged. Thank you to all of the people who do review though and to all my followers, you're awesome! I am hoping to have the next chapter up sometime by either Wednesday or Thursday, but I'll have to see because I have been very busy lately due to homework.**

**Once again, please review!**

**-Silvermoon2465**


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